Rushworth (including Whroo)
Fascinating old goldmining town.
Rushworth is an old goldmining town which retains much of its original character through its many early buildings. It is located 166 km north of Melbourne via Murchison and 145 m above sea-level. Today there are about 1000 residents.
Rushworth became a stopping place in the early 1850s for those travelling between the Bendigo and Beechworth diggings. Gold was discovered near the future townsite in August 1853 when some diggers, camping overnight, were shown some 'pretty' stones by local Aborigines who then led them to their point of origin. The first settlement was established 1.5 km east of present-day Rushworth. It was known as 'Nuggetty', owing to the numerous large nuggets found. There were soon hundreds of tents and slab huts, stores, wine shanties, dams, puddling machines and crushing machines.
Alluvial gold was then found in plentiful supply right throughout the area and underground shafts were sunk to a depth of 270 metres, locating gold reefs 2.5 metres thick. 26 mines were operating at its peak and there were allegedly 40 000 people living in the district.
Poet Richard Horne, a friend of Charles Dickens, was made one of the two gold commissioners overseeing the rush and he gave the town its name. One theory is that he took the English idea of ending a town's name with '-worth' and jokingly coined the term 'Rushworth' (i.e., a worth-while rush) or that he named it after two fellow passengers from the ship that brought him to Australia. Horne and fellow-commissioner Willoughby successfully quelled potential riots over the expensive miner's licence.
The area which is now High St (the main road) began developing in 1853. A survey of the site was conducted in 1854 and by 1858 there was a police camp, a wooden courthouse, five hotels, two breweries, a school, seven large stores, 20 tradesmen's shops and two banks; all at the southern end of High St.
The first local newspaper, the Waranga Echo, started in 1868 although the mining began to wind down in the 1870s. However, the town continued to prosper as timbergetting became a major local industry with at least seven sawmills operating at one stage. Now only Risstroms Sawmill remains.
The town declined during the Great Depression but has survived. Mixed farming is now carried on under irrigation.
21 km west of town is the locality of Colbinabbin where novelist Joseph Furphy had a selection from 1868 to 1873, although he later described it as 'the worst selection in Rodney Shire' and soon headed off to the Riverina area of NSW.
Things to see:
High Street Heritage Walk
In 1983 High St (the main thoroughfare) and its adjacent streets were declared an Urban Conservation Area by the National Trust. High St began its life in 1853, at the outset of the goldrush. Until the railway arrived in 1890, the southern end of the street was the focal point of local business and so many of the older buildings are clustered there.
Start your investigation of High St at the Hyde St intersection. On the south-eastern corner is an old steam traction engine whistle post (1906). This sign warned steam engines which were hauling logs from Rushworth Forest to the local sawmill to sound their whistle. On the hill is St Paul's Anglican Church, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1869-70. Diagonally opposite the whistle post is the town's second courthouse (1870s). Head north along High St. At the Horne St corner is the Waranga Shire Hall (1869). Turn left into Horne St and on the left is the old fire brigade hall (1890s).
Return to High St, continuing northwards. On the right-hand side is the town's oldest building - the Imperial Hotel which has recently been turned into a bed and breakfast. It started its life in 1854 as the Imperial Hotel and has taken the new owners five years to restore this famous building to its full Victorian charm. Just past it are the first CBC Bank, the second CBC Bank (1883) and Cracknell's Bakery - all now private residences. On the other side of the road is the Criterion Hotel (1856). The first school was established on its south side in 1858.
Continue along High St. To the left is the Glasgow Building (1858). In the middle of High St, in the central plantation, are the band rotunda (1888) with the base added to store fire equipment in 1901. The Rushworth Brass Band have been operating locally since 1874 and they are still in action. The Fire Tower dates from 1900 and the RSL Memorial Clock from 1923. There are picnic-barbecue facilities and an information stand.
On the western side of High St, between Wigg and Parker Sts, are a series of old shops. At High and Parker is the former office of the Chronicle newspaper (1888).
Rushworth Museum
At the intersection of High and Parker Sts, adjacent the site of the early Wiggs Brewery (1854-1898), is the Rushworth Museum, located in the former mechanics institute, erected in 1913 to replace the original 1861 structure. It contains items pertaining to local history and is open on Tuesdays from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Moora Road
At High St and Moora Rd is the post office (1885). On the other side of the road is the old Presbyterian Church (1858-59). Head west along Moora Rd, taking in the Rushworth Hotel (built in 1878 as the Cricketers Arms) and the first Catholic Church, situated at Moora and School St (1861). Duck across the road to the Masonic hall (1894), at the corner of Moora and Esmonde St.
High School and Dunlop Hill
The aforementioned School St leads from Moora Rd to Heily St where you will see the town's high school (1872).
Nearby is McDonald St which will start you on your way up Dunlop Hill where there are fine wildflowers in spring.
Growlers Hill Lookout Tower
The fire authority's lookout tower at Growlers Hill (once mined for gold) offers views over the town, the Waranga Reservoir, the Rushworth Forest and the Goulburn Valley. Head west along Parker St then turn right into Reed St.
Methodist Church
The town's old Methodist Church (1869) is located along the Murchison Rd which runs off Nicholson St.
Jones's Eucalyptus Distillery
A distillery, just south of Rushworth, extracts eucalyptus oil from blue mallee gum. Visitors are welcome but ring first as opening hours are irregular, tel: (03) 5856 1280. Head south on the Whroo Rd (an extension of High St) and turn off into Parramatta Gully Rd.
Rushworth State Forest
Rushworth State Forest is a 24 300-hectare reserve to the immediate south of town via Whroo Rd. It consists of red ironbark, yellow gum and grey box eucalypts with a profusion of wildflowers and orchids after autumn and spring rains. Fauna includes 100 bird species, echidnae, possums, kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos and the rat-sized marsupial known as the tuan. It is a fine area for bushwalking, forest drives and nature studies and picnicking. The creeks of the forest were scoured for gold in the 19th century and some optimists still do some panning.
Whroo
7 km south of Rushworth, along Whroo Rd, is Whroo Historic Reserve (65 hectares) which represents the remnants of what was once a thriving goldmining town of 1000 people and 139 buildings (all removed or demolished). All that remains to mark the building sites are peppercorn trees, wells and grassy clearings.
The Whroo goldfield began in 1853 in a gully near Balaclava Hill which itself became the site of a gold strike in 1854. The find was made on the same day as the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War (hence its name). It proved to be an extremely rich source with 15-cm gold veins crisscrossing through the quartz. In all it produced over a million pounds worth of gold.
Visitors can still see the 25-metre deep open-cut mine on the hill. To the south of the hill is the site of the mine owner's homestead. Four large pine trees remain from his 4-acre garden. A row of sugar gums marks the site of a mechanics institute where balls were held on moonlit nights (owing to the lack of electricity) from 1859 to 1955.
Also south of the hill is the evocative Whroo Cemetery and a signposted walking track that leads from the cemetery to an Aboriginal waterhole. It is presumably the source of the town's name as local Aborigines called the area 'wooroo' which is thought to mean 'waterhole'.
Other relics include cyanide vats and a puddling machine which are adjacent each other to the south-west of the hill.
There are other signposted walking tracks and a signposted camping site with toilets and picnic tables but no water. It is a good area for bushwalking, cycling, horse riding and forest drives. For further information enquire at the mud-brick building at the reserve which sells Devonshire teas or ring (03) 5856 1434.
Waranga Basin
Waranga Basin is to the immediate north-east of town. It was designed by John Dethbridge, who invented the Dethbridge water wheel, and was completed in 1916. The water derives from the Goulburn Weir and is relayed to the Goulburn Valley and across the north of the state to the Mallee. It is a haven for water sports, including boating, fishing, sailing, swimming and waterskiing. There are picnic areas, barbecue facilities, toilets, boat ramps a caravan park and camping areas.
The main access road is the Tatura Rd. It takes you past the Waranga-Mallee channel which transports the water 290 km via gravity feed to the Mallee.
Just off the Tatura Rd is the 7-km Waranga Basin Embankment Wall, erected in 1908 by man and horsepower. There is a shady picnic and swimming area nearby. The outlet canal here follows the course of a 64-km diversion channel which was hand-dug in 1885 from the Goulburn River at Murchison to the Murray River at Echuca. This brought water to the Goulburn Valley, thereby enabling the development of the valley's dairy and orchard industries.
There is also a caravan park and holiday camp (offering bunk-style accommodation) with a boat-ramp, kiosk, childrens' playground and picnic reserve. They are off the Tatura Rd, 4.5 km from town, tel: (03) 5856 1243. There is another picnic area 13 km from Rushworth.
The Inlet Channels are signposted off the Murchison Rd. Turn left under the Railway Geodetic Bridge to the new inlet and follow the shore of the lake to the old inlet channel.
Motels
Rushworth Motel/Hotel
15 Moora Rd
Rushworth VIC 3612
Telephone: (03) 5856 1420
Rating: ***
Hotels
Criterion Hotel
High St
Rushworth VIC 3612
Telephone: (03) 5856 1433
Rating: **
Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
Imperial Hotel B & B
High St
Rushworth VIC 3612
Telephone: (03)5856 1411
Lodges & Chalets
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